A DRIME Sunday

On Sunday we went to church again and after church we attended a practice of the local DRIME team for the first time! I was so excited to see them practice the dramas!! I literally couldn’t stop smiling the whole time I watched them practice! It was just so cool to see the dramas here in a different culture and watch the team members enjoy being in them! Now I really, really looking forward to going out and doing ministry with them!!

For the first half of the practice, Janna and I pulled out one member at a time to ask them questions about their experience on this team. I was the translator so I had to ask them the questions in French and translate their answers to Janna. I was so nervous!!! There were definitely a couple times when I had to ask someone to repeat what they said or when I had to take a few seconds to formulate the French I needed. But overall I think I did okay....it’ll get better when I have more practice. Then for the last half of the practice, I observed the team and how they operate.

Back at home, when we were discussing what we observed at the practice, it hit us how difficult it’s going to be to choose leaders for DRIME Benin, especially if we aren’t supposed to choose the people who have been already leading this team over the last few months. I know God has the perfect people already chosen to lead DRIME Benin and he will reveal them to us in time, but for now it just seems like a huge task! So we are praying a lot and your prayers mean a lot as well (I know I’ve listed this prayer request like a thousand times!)!!

So I just wanted to take a moment to discuss our eating habits here in good ol’ Benin. We have been very lucky to find food that we are used to and there are a couple little street-side stores near our apartment that we can walk to. We definitely eat less here – our diet mostly consists of bread, pasta and fruit! We have a bigger meal for lunch (mostly some kind of pasta), and then for dinner we usually have baguettes with various toppings. We found a Nutella equivalent here so Jamie and I are thrilled!! And Janna found avocados so she is also happy! And pasta is both Jamie and my favourite food so we aren’t complaining!! And we never waste food because whatever Janna and I don’t eat, Jamie will! Once we all finish our first helpings, Janna and I will take anything else we still need first and Jamie will just eat whatever is left!! Hahaha!! Oh, and don’t worry – we are getting protein as well...we’ve had deli meat and chicken for a few meals.

Even though I’m having a blast out here, I do miss my family and friends back home!! I think of you guys every day!!

It Kinda Feels Like Home!

Well, I have been here for 2 weeks now and it actually feels like I’ve been here longer. Definitely not because I’m bored (that is not a problem at all), but because living here is starting to feel normal! We are falling into our own routine now and starting to figure out our way around. Even our sleeping patterns are starting to become more normal! I’m the same here as in Canada – I’m a night person and can stay up pretty late but I’m really not a morning person! Janna is like me but less extreme at night, and Jamie is the complete opposite – he gets sleepy early and then always wakes up really early in the morning!

On Saturday we had a very full day!! We woke up a bit earlier to wash our laundry for the first time! And as you may have guessed...we didn’t use a washing machine. That’s right...we washed our clothes with our bare hands and a bucket!! I bet our parents are gasping right now! Haha!! It really wasn’t that bad – it was actually nice to have our hands in cold water for an hour! And we were up on the roof where it is much cooler and there are clotheslines. The lady who owns our apartment building made a bigger deal out of it then we did! She was shocked that we would wash our own laundry and kept offering to call the person she gets to wash her clothes. But I want the full experience of life here!!

We left our clothes up there to dry on the clotheslines and returned to our apartment. And we decided to finally decorate our place! Jamie brought a big Canadian flag and Janna brought a large map of the world, so we put both of those up. And then all of us brought pictures of our friends and families so we created a “Friends and Family” wall and put all of them up! It looks really good and feels more like home now!!

After decorating, Jamie found a game on my computer called Jewel Quest Solitaire. It is a version of Solitaire but with a lot of other components and a mystery that you have to help solve. It sounded interesting so he and I started playing it. Well...we ended up playing it for a couple hours!! It would get so intense and we really got into it!! Haha!! But it turns out I only had the trial version on my computer and we used up all our time! So I would have to buy it to keep playing! We were sooooo disappointed!! Hahaha!!

We ended the day like we end most days – watching the TV show LOST! I brought all 5 seasons on my computer because none of us have seen the whole series but really want to. We’ve all been told that you have to start at the beginning of the series and watch it in order all the way through so you can understand what’s happening, so we figured this would be a great time since we actually have the time to watch a full series! And it is soooo good!! We are definitely on the edge of our seats for most of the episodes!

Thank you for your prayers!! All our sunburns, Janna’s bug bites and my blisters are all doing much better!! But I want to ask you to continue praying for a couple things:
o Continued health and safety
o Confidence for Jamie and I as we speak French and translate
o Wisdom as we choose leaders for DRIME Benin in the next few weeks

P.S. Last time I wasn't able to upload pictures so I'm uploading a bunch for you now!

Janna and I at the Paris airport

Our living room

Our kitchen

The view from our porch

One of the cockroaches we killed (no, that is not my shoe - it's Jamie's - my shoes are definitely way smaller!)

Me, Jamie and Janna at the beach after our treacherous walk! Haha!!

We Found The Beach!!...And Almost Died!!

Hey all!! Yes, this is my second blog post in one day but we weren’t able to get to an internet cafe for so long so I have lots to share!! :)

On Tuesday morning, we met with the two people who have been leading the DRIME team since May. We wanted to ask them how it went and share with them what we want to see DRIME become here. Then after our meeting, one of them offered to show us how to get to the beach from our house. He said it would be about a 10 minute walk, so I put on a little bit of sunscreen and my flip flops, and off we went! Well...it was actually an HOUR long walk in the blazing hot sun!!! So yeah, flip flops were not a good idea and I got my first sunburn in Benin! For all of you who remember my huge watch tan from a couple years ago...it has resurfaced!! Haha!! I think I was the hottest I have ever been – I almost died!! :)

The people here have a word for white people – “yovo.” It is not a mean or derogatory word – it’s more of a “I’m happy to see white people” word. But it is soooo funny because most of the kids we pass will call it out to us! And then we realized that they have a song! It goes like this: “Yovo, yovo, bonsoir! Ca va bien, merci!” Which means: “White person, white person, good afternoon! I am well, thank you!” We laugh every time we hear it and wave and answer back! We’re thinking of making our own song! Haha!! Just kidding!

Another thing that has taken getting used to here, is their water and power systems. It is not uncommon to lose one of these things for a while. For example, we just got our running water back after not having any for 3 days! We have humongous buckets outside of the washroom and kitchen that we are supposed to fill every time we have running water so that we will have some when it cuts out. And last night the power would go out every 30 minutes or so and then come back on after a couple minutes. So we have candles and flashlights ready to go at a moment’s notice!! Haha!!

I have a couple more prayer requests for you guys:
o Continued health and safety
o Relief from bug bites, sunburns and blisters that one or all of us have
o Confidence for Jamie and I as we speak French and translate
o Wisdom as we choose leaders for DRIME Benin in the next few weeks

Overall, we are having a blast!! Yes, there are challenges but it definitely helps having a God who is bigger than anything, and two friends to go through everything with!

For other stories and pictures, you can check out my two teammates’ blogs:
- Janna: jannaruth.blogspot.com
- Jamie: jamieisinbenin.blogspot.com

Actually in Africa!!

Yep, I’m in Benin! Crazy!!!! Me – the girl who thought she would never go overseas!!! Never say never!! Haha! We got here safe and sound at 10:30pm on Feb. 11. What a journey, but I’ll start at the beginning...

We all met at the airport at 5am on Wednesday. It was definitely hard saying goodbye (and I miss my family and friends already!) but there was also a level of excitement knowing that this day was already here!
All our plane rides went well! Both our flights going to Paris and Benin were delayed ( 1 hour delay to Paris, 2.5 hour delay to Benin) but we were safe and healthy the whole way and all our luggage arrived with us in Benin!!! Yay!! Huge answer to prayer! So I got to go on the biggest plane I’ve ever been on and have my first airplane meal! (And airplane food really isn’t that bad!) One thing that was very ironic was that it was below 0 and snowing in Paris and then when we got off the plane in Benin, we walked into a wall of heat!!

Yes, it is very very hot here!!! But all our bedrooms have air conditioning (which we try not to use too much because it costs money) and we have a huge (but very loud) fan in our sitting room. Oh yeah, speaking of our apartment, it is actually a lot nicer than I was expecting! I was trying not to expect anything because we weren’t sure what it was actually going to be like. But it is a nice apartment with a sitting and eating area, a kitchen, 3 bedrooms and 2 washrooms. And it was fully furnished when we got here – we were expecting to have to buy some furniture. We seemed to have a pet cockroach in Jamie’s room. We had a 3 day long battle with him, which consisted of him hiding and us trying to find him, then on Saturday night Jamie and I found him!! But we had to call in Janna as our reinforcement because apparently Jamie and I are both kinda afraid of getting too close to a cockroach! Ha! But then when I went to my room, I found a cockroach in my computer bag!! So we had another battle but again, WE WON!!! But God really has given us such a nice place!!

On Friday, we ran a bunch of errands and went grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is kinda overwhelming when it is not in your first language and there are really different products to choose from. But it also gave us a lot of laughs (for example, we thought our apples were going to cost $90 Canadian because we totally misinterpreted their pricing system!).

We went to church on Sunday morning. It was held in French and in Fong (a tribal language) so we couldn’t understand all of it but it was fun just to be there and watch! The people of that church definitely have a passion for God and it was inspiring to worship with them!
After church, we met with the team that has been doing DRIME since May (when DRIME came here on a missions trip). Everyone introduced themselves and Jamie and I did our best to speak French and translate for Janna. And we were able to share our vision for what this DRIME team will look like by the time we leave. It will be interesting to see how this team adjusts to become more like DRIME and who steps forward as leaders. Our first practice with them is next Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for all your prayers!! We have definitely felt them all!! If you could continue to pray for continued health and safety and for me to be more confident with my French, that would be greatly appreciated!!

We won’t be able to get to an Internet cafe too often, but I do want to update you as much as I can!! So I’ll talk to you later!

Leaving This Week!!

Hi Everyone!!

Welcome to my first blog entry!!

This is the place to get regular updates about my time in Benin, Africa over the next few months. Thanks already for your prayers and support as I prepare to leave!!

I can't believe I leave in 3 days already!! Wow - time has gone by so fast!
I have attached a picture of my team - there is me, Jamie, Janna and Abby (from left to right). Janna, Jamie and I leave this week and Abby will come in May. Our plane leaves Wednesday morning at 7am and then we have about 2 days of travel. First we travel to Salt Lake City, then Paris, and finally Cotonou (the city where I will be living in Benin). We are renting a house in Cotonou and will probably take the first few days to settle in and recover from all the travel!

I'm hoping to upload a new blog post before the end of next week - so stay tuned!!

I do have a couple prayer requests right now:

• Safety and health during travel
• That all the logistics involved with flying will work out (ie. that we would have no delays, that our luggage would arrive with us!)
• That Janna, Jamie and I would adjust well to the culture and our new living arrangements
• That all our remaining financial needs would be taken care of

Thank you sooo much for your prayers!!! I appreciate them more than you know!

Carleigh